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Welcome to Raw Foodie Friday where I'll be sharing recipes of what I feed to my dogs.  Every week, I receive an email from someone who wants me to give them a balanced raw food recipe.  I've attempted to do this many times in the past, and I found that I didn't have the experience; especially back when all of my raw meals were made with a base mix.  Today, I make raw meals on the fly daily, and my dogs are thriving, and I'm excited to share those meals with others who need inspiration.

I no longer focus on balance per meal. Instead, I balance over time which allows me more flexibility.  If I'm running low on an ingredient, I don't panic because my dogs' raw meals will be out of balance.  Instead, I add something else and adjust their diet later in the week or the following week.

Ask yourself – do you eat a balanced diet each meal or per day?

So here is a recent recipe…please feel free to ask questions in the comments.

Easy Raw Dog Food Recipe - Duck Veggies & Quail Eggs

 

Easy Raw Dog Food Recipe

Ground Duck Wings, Veggies, and Quail Eggs

Ground duck wings

I order two cases of duck wings (20 pounds each) and one case of duck necks (30 pounds) monthly through our local raw food co-op.  I ground the duck wings because I'm nervous about my dogs eating the drummettes – I've found some sharp pieces in their poop, so now I grind.  I leave the duck necks whole for the crunch and slight teeth cleaning benefits.

Organ blend

I have a hard time finding a good variety of organs (offal) so I add an organ blend from GreenTripe.com. The organ blend is a “freshly frozen blend of beef heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and pancreas with green tripe,” and comes in a 2-pound chub.  I order this by the case.

Fermented vegetables

When I do meal prep, I thaw several packages of the protein of the week and mix it with fermented vegetables.  I feed fermented vegetables instead of a standard vegetable mix because I'm not only getting the antioxidants, nutrients, and fiber, I'm also getting a natural source of probiotics which helps to promote a healthy gut biome.  Many of the longest living pets are credited with having a healthy gut biome so that is my main focus when feeding my dogs.

Quail eggs

I have been seeing raw meals with quail eggs for years and decided to see how my dogs would like them.  I found several local sources on the Facebook Marketplace and purchased two “cartons” from someone nearby.  They are so small – a lot smaller than I realized.  The shell is kind of soft, but my dogs weren't interested.

Given the size, I wondered if it's even worth feeding my dogs quail eggs; maybe these are just a novelty.  But I did some research and found that quail eggs are a great protein source, with more protein than chicken eggs.  And that's not all!  I read that quail eggs also have six times Vitamin B1 and fifteen times Vitamin B2.  The nutrients in quail eggs…

  • boost the immune system
  • prevents chronic disease
  • improves vision
  • boosts the metabolism
  • increases energy

I don't plan to swap quail eggs for chicken eggs, but I do plan to add them as a regular part of my dogs' diet.

Raw Dog Food Ingredients

  • 40 pounds of ground duck wings
  • 4 2- pound chubs of the organ blend
  • 4 containers of fermented vegetables
  • duck necks and quail eggs are added when I'm feeding the dogs; amount depends on my mood that day, what I have available (if I'm running low on dog food, I'll supplement by adding more duck necks, for example)

Supplements for DIY Raw Feeding

I believe that we should supplement our dogs' meals based on their individual needs so no two of my dogs get the same set of supplements.  However, I do believe that all of my dogs need the following:

Supplements can be purchased or they can be provided through whole food sources.  For instance, I can buy a joint supplement or I can support my dogs' joints by adding more duck feet, beef trachea, and other foods high in glucosamine.  I tend to add both.

Sourcing for Raw Meat for My Dogs

I purchase everything for my dogs through a local raw food co-op.

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